Hair algae affecting my tank in lots of ways

Byron

Any chance of a photo of this algae?

Nemo the Clownfish

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Byron

I've had this issue, there is an imbalance of light/nutrients and organics are likely high.

There seems to be something occurring with the programs on the forum at present, I'm having trouble getting around here, so I will just say what is in my mind without searching back through this or other threads. Was there a high nitrate reading (the organics)? And the lioght was too intense, but that has beeen fixed I believe. And Flourish Comp is once or twice (?) weekly.

I've never had luck with Wisteria, the plant in the photo, it always ends up loooking as it does here. I chucked it out and went with what worked in my situation.

Byron.

Nemo the Clownfish

I did a 50% water change this morning and the front of the tank was very clean, but the back, which I never do, was kind of dirty. I don't go all the way to the bottom (what do you think of that practice?). All the plants are at a standstill so I wondered at this point if increasing the fertilizer would help. I'm still playing with the lights, trying to get them not to bright but not too low. Flourish Comp is 1/2 teaspoon twice a week. I would try going up by 50% (1/4 teaspoon) and see if there is any reaction by the plants.

My nitrates are 10 ppm or 20 ppm, it's hard to tell the difference between the two color bands.

I think Wisteria really needs medium light. I already threw out 3 or 4 others so that this one would have space.

Thank you for all your help

Byron

I would dose 1 teaspoon of Flourish twice weekly, i.e., one teaspoon the day following the water change, and one teaspoon 3 days later. This is what i use in my tanks, it is approx 1/2 teaspoon per 30g, so in my 90g I use 3 half teaspoons, etc., each dose. What is your GH? I'm wondering about the "hard" minerals.

Vacuuming the substrate is something I tend not to do in planted tanks unless there is a problem with organics. I then go down about an inch in a gravel substrate, only where there are no plants. In my sand tanks I never dig into the substrate, just over the surface if it needs it.

Where are you with the light now?

Nemo the Clownfish

Hi Byron,

I'm confused about the Flourish Comp dose. You're advising me to dose 1 teaspoon 2x/week. But you say your dose is 1/2 teaspoon per 30 gallons. I have a 10 gallon tank and I've been dosing 1/4 teaspoon 2x/week.

GH is 5 dGH.

The lights: at no time are the lights on uncovered at full power. I tried a thin, white trash bag on the glass top, but that didn't seem bight enough. Today I swapped that for white shopping bags, which are even thinner, and I'm testing that setup.

Thank you.

Blackfeet

I found some info saying that amano shrimp and nerritt snails eat hair algea

Chesherca

Hey, Nemo - I just wanted to say that I've had the same problems with Wisteria (my tanks all run similar lighting/Gh as you), gave up on it a while back. With Flourish Comp, I dose my 10g tank 0.83 ml 1x weekly, have an 8 hour photo-period - everything is running very smoothly in there, but it's also always been very lightly stocked, heavily planted, and nitrates stay very low, at around 5ppm.

If you're using the color card that comes with the API Master Test Kit, you might want to consider getting a 'replacement' nitrate-only test from them. I've found an astounding difference in the color chart for the individual cards. The color bands for the individual tests are obviously different and easy to distinguish one from another, while the one that came with the Master kit is very difficult to tell the colors apart. If you contact the company, they'll send you out the individual card, but they'll charge $2, so you might as well buy the single test - you'll use it eventually!

Personally. . . I don't think it's a great idea to add stock to 'clean up' algae. There will still be an underlying issue, whether you are able to see the algae or not, so in my opinion, it's best to resolve the problem by adjusting your routine - though I do know many people who practice critter control ;)

I'm sorry you're having a tough time! I know how frustrating it can be to try to find the balance in a tank once it's gone wobbly. Don't really have any advice for you that hasn't already been covered - I'm sure Byron will straighten you out! Good luck!

fish monger

I think you and Byron are saying the same thing...just a little mix up along the way. You are doing what Byron is suggesting. Forgive me if I have misrepresented anything here. Sounds like you follow the instructions on the bottle twice a week at appropriate intervals.

fish monger

I would pinch off the plant at the stem just below the algae, remove as much hair algae as I could, and plant it in the substrate. You gain a new plant and the old plant will bush out. Naturally, we need to keep working on the hair algae problem.